Jar-cover wrench



Jan. 16, 1934. J. F. JOHNSON JAR COVER WRENCH Filed Oct. 6, 1932 I llllllll wnlln-hm m nnum \IIIIIII III F lllllllllll gwuvntoz J ft" Lia 5125022,

Patented Jan. 16, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 14 Claims.

This invention pertains to wrenches for turning the covers or tops having threaded engagement with the necks of jars or bottles.

The object of the invention is to furnish a wrench of simple construction that is quite easy to use, and which is of a type that can be adjusted for either tightening or loosening the cover or top, and that is extremely positive in gripping action.

In order that my wrench may beclearly understood the appended drawing is provided wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the wrench, the body thereof being shown in longitudinal section.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of parts of the wrench.

Figure 3 shows the wrench as it appears as viewed from its under side. Figure 4 is a transverse section of the wrench on line 44 of Fig- 20 ure 3, and

Figure 5 is a transverse section of an operating member showing an adjustment control arrangement.

My wrench is of that type in which jar-cover clamping jaws are shifted with respect to each other through the use of a pinion having engagement with opposite toothed rack-members of which the jaws are parts. The invention herein is directed to the employment of such a structure but wherein both a right and left operation of the said jar-cover may be had to the end that the cover may be either tightened or loosened by shifting the pinion into two different planes in which parts of the rack-members may lie as distinguished from that form of wrench in which the cover is operated in but one direction.

In the drawing 1 indicates a body of sheet metal having turned thereon at each of two opposite edges a flange 2 spaced from the main portion as in figures 2 and 4 to provide guideways 2" for the jaw carrying members 3, 4. These said members are of U-form the legs of which are provided with teeth 5 on the edges thereof that face each other, as in FigureB, it being understood that the guideways 2 receive the said members in a free sliding fit and that, as shown, the yoke portion of each is provided with a jaw 6, one opposed to the other, so that in the shifting movement the said jaws are moved to and from'each other. At a central position of the body 1 arises a tubular portion '7 constituting a bearing for an operating shaft 8 provided at one extremity with a handle 9 and at its other or inner extremity with a pinion 10 whose teeth are engageable with the teeth 5 of the members 3, 4. The shaft is made slidable in the direction of its axis whereby its pinion may be adjusted into two different planes in order that its teeth'may be meshed with the teeth 5 as already intimated, and, further, there is provision for maintaining the pinion in either of the adjusted meshing positions. As an example, the means employed for such purpose may consist in providing a pair of grooves 11' in the shaft 8 as in Figure 4, these grooves being spaced a distance equal to the distance traveled by the pinion in the two meshing positions. A notch 12 is provided in the tubular portion '7 and a spring 13 is sprung around said portion, a short bend 14 in such spring adapted to enter through the said notch 12 and engage in either of the grooves 11, it being clear that said spring will snap from one groove to the other in a shifting movement of the shaft, the pinion being thus eflectively held in either of its two positions of adjustment.

Particular attention is drawn to the said members 3, 4. It is observed that one leg of each lies in a difierent plane from that of the other, the yoke of each said member being formed with a bend 3', 4 respectively, Figures 2 and 3. This admits of a leg of one member being placed beneath a leg of the other and as particularly denoted by the difference in the type of cross-hatching of those members in Figure 4. These said members may be identical in form, it may be seen, both being formed in a common die, not shown, and in their'reversed positions nest in each other. Necessarily the teeth of both members 3, 4 and the teeth of the pinion must correspond in form..

In shifting the pinion from one plane into another it is only necessary to impart a slight rotation to the shaft in either direction in order to align the two sets of teeth of the members and thus permit the transition of the teeth of the pinion. I

Since the teeth of the pinion engage one leg of each member 3, 4 the rotation of said pinion will either increase or decrease the distance between the jaws in a given direction of rotation, depending upon'which legs are engaged. In a study of Figure 3, for example, a rotation of the shaft in the direction of the arrow will shift the member 3 toward the right and the member 4 toward the left when the pinion lies in the position shown in Figure 4, whereas if the pinion has the position shown in broken lines in the figure last named the same direction of rotation of the pinion will reverse the directions of travel of said members. Thus the wrench is adapted for both a right and left gripping action on the jar-cover, the latter being either tightened or loosened.

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In some of the claims the term operating member will be used to designate the pinion or equivalent member.

While I have described a specific construction of the parts of my wrench I may depart somewhat therefrom while still within the spirit of the invention and the claims thereto.

I claim:

1. A wrench including in its construction a pair of members capable of movement in opposite directions with respect to each other, each includ-- ing a pair of spaced legs and a jaw, and an adjustable operating member adapted for simultaneously operatively engaging either leg of one of the members and an opposite leg of the other of the members whereby in a movement of said operating member the said pair of members will be moved in said opposite directions.

2. In a wrench, a body, a pair of members mounted on said body, each capable of being capable of movement with respect to the other in opposite directions and each including a jaw, an operating member carried by the body, rotatable in opposite directions and shiftable axially with respect to said body and with respect to said members, the latter adapted for clamping their jaws upon an object in either direction of their movement relatively and each having two parts lying in different planes and one of such parts lying in the same plane with the opposite part of the other member, the operating member in its axial adjustment adapted to operatively engage the two members in either position of said adjustment.

3. A wrench including a body portion, a pair of shiftable jaw-carrying members guided therein each having a pair of spaced legs, one of the legs of one member overlying a leg of the other, the legs of one member having opposed relation to the legs of the other member, and an operating member disposed in the space between the pairs of legs and shiftable to two different positions, the same being engageable with either pair of the thus opposed legs.

4. A wrench including in its construction a body, a pair of members mounted therein shiftable with respect to each other, each including a jaw, part of each member lying in a different plane from the balance thereof and one of such parts lying in the same plane with the opposite part of the other member, and an operating member mounted in the body shiftable to either of two positions for simultaneous engagement with a part of each member.

5. A wrench including in its construction a body, a pair of members mounted therein shiftable in opposite directions relatively, each including a jaw, opposite parts of one member lying in two different planes with one part of each member lying in the same plane with an opposite part of the other member, and an operating member carried by the body and shiftable into either of two planes for operatively engaging and shifting the members in said opposite directions.

6. A wrench including in its construction a pair of j aw-carrying members each including a pair of spaced legs lying in different parallel planes and shiftable relatively, a leg of one of such members lying in the same plane with an opposite leg of the other member and overlying the same, and an operating member disposed in the space between the pairs of legs and mounted to be shifted into operative engagement with either of said pairs of spaced legs, and means for manually shifting the operating member into either of the two positions for such engagement.

'7. A wrench including in its construction a body, a pair of U-shaped members having teeth on facing edges of the two legs thereof, each member including a jaw, the legs of each member lying in two different planes, and the leg of one member lying in the same plane with the opposite leg of the other member, and a pinion carried by the body capable of being shifted into either of the two planes and adapted to engage the teeth of diiferent opposite legs of the members.

8. The invention according to claim '7 wherein is included means for holding the pinion in either of its operating positions.

9. The invention according to claim '7 wherein is included elastic means for holding the pinion in either of its adjusted operating positions.

10. A wrench including in its construction a body having a flange at each of two opposite edges, said flanges extending toward each other and lying in spaced relation to said body, a pair of U-shaped members slidably mountedone upon the other between the body and flanges, the legs of each having teeth at the edges thereof that face each other, one leg of each member lying in a different plane from that of the other, and

both nesting in each other whereby the'plane of one leg of a member lies in the same plane with an opposite leg of the other member, a shaft journaled in the body and shiftable endwise therein, and a pinion fixed on the shaft and movable with the latter into two different planes for engaging the teeth of a leg of each member in either position of said pinion.

11. The invention according to claim 10 including means for securing the shaft in either of two positions of its adjustment.

12. The invention according to claim 10including yieldable means for securing the shaft in either of its two adjusted positions.

13. In a wrench of the nature described, the combination with a body including guide means and a pair of U-shaped members slidable' in said guide means, said members adapted for movement inopposite directions in substantially parallel planes, and each including a work engaging jaw, of a rotatable operating member member.

14. A wrench of the nature described including in its construction guiding means, a pair of members therein having spaced legs and adapted for movement in opposite directions in substantially parallel planes, and each including awork engaging jaw, and a rotatably mounted operating member disposed between the legs and en gageable with either of two opposite legs in either of two positions of adjustment of such member whereby the jaws can be moved toward each other in either direction of rotation of said operating member.

JOHN F. JOHNSON. 

